


Underneath

by Coldman9, SilentAvera



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Beaten Half to Death, Disturbing Themes, Horror, Inner Demons, M/M, and Outer Demons, mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-24 07:55:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8364133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coldman9/pseuds/Coldman9, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentAvera/pseuds/SilentAvera
Summary: A horrifying encounter leaves one of the world's most gifted scientists, and most promising master candidates without a single answer as to why it ever happened.





	1. It Was There

**Author's Note:**

> I will be blunt, I wanted SO BADLY to get something out for Halloween this year without sacrificing my sanity in rushing to get it out, so I had this ready ewe...Ready-ish....ewe
> 
> This is indeed set within the world frame of The Warmth of Frost, and as to when this happens, before, or after, I can leave up to you for now because there was no way in hell I'd be able to finish that story before Halloween 8'D
> 
> The 'really' bad stuff happens in the second part, as noted by the tags given, and one of my most cherished friends helped me bring the horror to a grim, ghastly, and scary life..... 8D
> 
> As much as I love horror, I scare my own damn self writing it! ;_;

_For all the encounters you’ve had Ash with your Gary, you have answers for. No matter the trial, no matter the heartache and strain, you two always found an answer together....._ _But as for that encounter over the course of two days, to this waking night, and perhaps for the rest of your lives, what happened then, you two will never understand._

 

Bonnie squealed and bounced so hard, her vid-cam shook, but she quickly righted it, her voice coming through Ash’s vid-cam just a tad out of sync – “For real? Like for real for real, you guys were _haunted?!”_

Ash grimaced, leaning back a little on a small living room chair, “It was more like a living nightmare” –

“So you guys were _legit_ haunted? You mean like a real true haunting where some traumatic event burned a hole through space and time – and not just a ghost pokemon messing around?”

“Yes legit haunted” –

Gary’s voice came from afar, “Zero out of ten, would not do again, ever.”

Bonnie pulled up her seat, her motions still a bit faster than her vid-cam could capture through her computer, “Oh my god you have to tell me! Tell me everything! The whole story from front to back!”

Ash’s flat expression only grew thus, “It’s not a pleasant story. It was a horrible experience no one should ever, _ever_ have to go through, it made me feel powerless to protect Gary” –

Bonnie rested her head attentively on her hands, “M’kay, off to a good start here” –

Ash gave a guttural sigh, “I’m being serious Bonnie, what happened to us, specifically _Gary,_ is not something to make light of!”

“I’m not! I’m just really super interested in what happened to you guys.”

Gary came up from behind Ash placing his hand on his shoulder, “If she wants to know, I don’t have a problem with you sharing it.”

“Are you sure?” Ash’s expression full of concern.

“Yes, if anything else, it can serve as a warning to not go where experts tell you not to go,” Gary gave a stern look a Bonnie, and walked out of sight, back to his desk not far from where Ash was sitting.

Bonnie rolled her eyes only making Ash’s agitation buzz further, *I am so calling Clemont and telling him to put a tracking device on you,* he hissed internally. Bonnie leaned more intently to the screen, Ash sighed, wondering how they had come to this means to and end of conversation – Bonnie had just called Ash to get advice on camping methods and _now_ he was about to tell her one of the most harrowing experiences he ever endured with his beloved.

Ash sat himself more comfortably since they were going to be there a while, “……It began with a scout to a part of the forest people and pokemon rarely ever go…”

 

_You were excited to show him, this place in the forest with an odd bio-code, a place where it seems to have an aura of its very own that shined like red on your Ranger equipment, like a perpetual sunset, that bled._

 

“How are my people doing back there?” Max chirped, his helicopter settling after a small feat of turbulence.

“We’re good,” smiled Ash with Pikachu in his lap giving a thumbs up,

“Pikapi!”

“Just peachy,” said Gary flatly, rubbing his stomach; Ritchie was sitting on the other side of the couple looking like he was trying to keep a speck of dust in his mouth.

Max double checked through his com to their target clearing, “Alright, we’ll be at our little stop soon.”

*Thank-god,* Gary groaned internally; Ash leaned on his shoulder suddenly,

“I’m really glad you were able to come with us for this, I can’t wait to show you this area, I think you’ll really find it interesting with your research.”

“Well I can certainly hope it’s worth the trip” – Max began whistling a particularly annoying song –“and the company,” Gary grumbled.

“Hey Gary,” came Max’s voice, “What can you tell me about our destination?”

“That it can’t come fast enough.”

“Gary,” Ash sighed.

“Well, you might be singing a different tune after we leave,” Max turned his voice a tad chillier, “This place ain’t like any other place I’ve visited, and I’ve been around” –

“I’m sure you have.”

Ash side-glanced his boyfriend hard; Ritchie smirked.

“You see, where we’re headed, light, and wind, the trees, bushes, dirt, and even the dust, their properties just don’t line up with the norm, something effects them that makes them like a living ‘itch’ you can’t quite scratch” –

Gary scratched the bridge of his nose nonchalantly, “Uh huh” –

“And no matter how you turn your head, or how you look around, there’s this glossy, glassy feel that everything is just ever so slightly off-center. No one has any rational explanation for it. For decades the locals have said that this part of the woods is and has always been a little, _off,_ especially with it being the stretch before the…. _Under Hollow.”_

“The Under Hollow?” asked Gary.

“Oh yes…A part of woods where neither human nor pokemon dare venture,” said Max making his voice match the part, “A place where even ghost types get the urge to turn away…..It is said they can feel a most malevolent presence – one too terrifying for them to confront, one certainly, not of this earth…..Something bad happened there, something that, stained the environment a right ugly shade, and it was never able to recover, the sin committed was carved down to the very core of the Under Hollow’s existence.”

“Right,” said Gary crossing his arms, “Some wacked-out group more than likely committed some heinous crime, can’t imagine any poor pokemon wanting to stick around that memory.”

“Oh it certainly was heinous all right,” Max continued, “Albeit the story has been passed down for many generations with people adding their own bits and influences and stuff and before you know it you have just, trees made out of blood and nightmares and whatnot. Thus, no one truly knows what happened there to make the Under Hollow what it is today, only that anyone who dare tries to venture to it,” Max turned to look back at Gary with a cutting grimace through his glasses, _“Never return~”_

Gary rolled his eyes so hard his whole head turned with him, *I'm going to knock those glasses, and your stupid ponytail off,* Gary grumbled internally.

“But we’re not going to the Under Hollow,” said Ritchie, “We’re barely even going to touch the outer region known as the Fall Strip.”

“And aside from the spooky stuff, the Under Hollow has a lot of natural dangers too,” said Ash, “We put up signs and whatnot to warn about how dangerous the environment was, but they kept getting taken down or destroyed. We even put up cameras and coms to try and record who was doing it, but each and every single one shorted out. So, eventually it was just deemed to be outright off limits, the ‘if you enter we’re not responsible for you dying’ kind of thing, and the surrounding areas like the Fall Strip would only be permitted by protected personnel, well legally at least, I mean we can’t stop everyone.”

“Hmp. Its not like you guys can put up a fence, this whole area is a wildlife range,” said Gary.

“Yeah, this part of the reserve really is wild,” said Ritchie, “For all the wrong reasons.”

“Just the other day,” came Max’s voice, “Some null idiot thought he’d camp in the Fall Strip, just on the verge before reaching the Under Hollow, Thomas’ group were the one that found him, and this poor soul had gashes all up and down his arms and chest” –

“He was attacked by a wild pokemon,” said Gary.

“These gashes were _carved_ into him, and they weren’t just flailing claw marks, they made these weird _symbols” –_

“He probably did it to himself” –

“I dunno,” said Ritchie looking a tad paler than usual, “I saw how shaken up that dude was from Thomas’ com, it made even me think otherwise – but like I said, we’re going to just barely touch the Fall Strip” –

“Why do you guys call it the Fall Strip?”

“Because it’s a part of the forest that is in a perpetual Fall state,” said Ash, “I mean once you get past the scary stuff, it’s actually pretty cool! It’s Fall all the time there!”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” said Gary –

“That’s why I want to show you,” said Ash, “All these other scientists get to come and try to crack the code of this place, but I know you’ll be the one to do it!”

_Oh Gary, it will always warm your heart how much faith Ash has in you :D Yeah hi little voice in your head still here, I’m just going to chill in the back of your mind Gary until you need a voice of reason because it looks like you got this son. Go you! :D_

Gary couldn’t help but give Ash one of his suave smiles, “I’m sure I could.”

It was Ritchie’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Feel that air starting to drop?” came Max’s voice, “We’re getting closer.”

Gary rubbed his arms,

_And I’m back – now that he mentions it, yeah Gary, it is actually starting to get a little colder, but it’s in the middle of the day! In summer! But you are brave! Yes you are! 8D P.S. Fuck Max._

Max’s helicopter did a sudden dip as a strong sudden blast of wind knocked the chopper askew momentarily, Gary caught himself just a second too late and a tiny squeal leapt out of him –

“Oh my Gary, did I pull a wee scream from you~?”

_BRO I WILL COME AT YOU LIKE A SPIDER-HAWK – FUCK FUCK FUCKITY IT YOU MAX DX!!!_

Gary kicked the back of Max’s seat, making him give a little oof.

 

Ash sighed on the memory, “We landed in a clearing just on the edge of the Fall Strip, a cute little place, like a meadow with a bunch of flowers, and then there’s just this line of trees for miles that are all autumn colors and everything on the other side is all autumn too! It’s quite the sight to see Fall right next to Summer!”

 

Gary put on his jacket as he called out his Arcanine, and Ash called out Rapidash, Tauros, and a Dodrio, “Afternoon everyone!” The pokemon happily grunted back, “We’re going to do an Observance and Collect Mission and we need you guys absolutely fresh, we’re going into the Fall Strip with a guest, whom Rapidash here already knows, Professor Oak,” Gary nodded at the introduction, Ash reached behind his head with a blush, “and, he’s, also my boyfriend.” Rapidash whinnied a soft jab, Pikachu sighed.

Ash quickly clapped is hands together, “So once we get you guys outfitted, the plan is to walk just the outer region of the Fall Strip, we all know the area is not the most stable, both reasonably, and unreasonably, so stay alert.”

The pokemon grunted witch acknowledgement. Gary turned to look at the woods as the Rangers suited up their pokemon, rubbing his arms against the chill of the wind cutting through his jacket. He turned his head this way and that, and closed his eyes briefly from a soft annoyance of feeling his sight playing tricks on him, Max’s word ringing oddly true about how everything just feels, and looks, _off._

_Mmmmmmmmh, 8)……At least we’re not gonna be here that long._

Max set up a small camp in the clearing and reminded everyone to be back just after nightfall, and to send word if they need any help whatsoever. Gary was given Rapidash as his mount, Ash took Tauros as his (Pikachu leaping up on his shoulder), Ritchie took Dodrio (the Triple Bird pokemon ruffling its feathers, raring to go), Arcanine was suited with a little pouch to help Gary collect samples, and the group set off down a trail in the Fall Strip.

Even though it was mid-day, once they entered the pathway, it felt like the sun was already setting.

 

Bonnie saw Ash rub his hands nervously, “The trip went well enough, Gary collected samples of the trees, bushes, grass, really anything that moved, took a whole bunch of pictures and readings,” Ash gave a genuine smile, “It was really cute seeing him do his thing, do his work, he was so mesmerized by how, different things were there.”

Bonnie saw Gary come up from behind Ash, holding up a picture for her to see. Bonnie squinted her eyes then gasped with her hand over her mouth, “NO WAY, OH MY” –

It was a picture of Ash, Ritchie, Pikachu, making silly faces on their mounts, and just off to the side, behind a tree, was a shadow with what looked to be its head floating above its decapitated body. Gary took a moment looking at the picture himself with a blank expression…..“That was the first warning, that, I completely ignored….Hmp, looking back on it now, we should have left then and there, but I just thought it was the trick of the light since things there were just,” Gary looked to Bonnie, “ _off.”_

 

“You got enough Gary?” smiled Ash, tucking away his own gear from their mission, everyone’s mounts keeping a steady pace on the path.

Gary scrolled through his com looking at all the data recorded, his eyes shinning with excitement, “I’m going to be looking through this for weeks, thank-you guys so much!” Through Gary’s enthusiasm, his body forgot it had gotten even colder as they had walked about, and the sun was looking ever lower as it really was on the edge of nightfall; the shadows growing long, and spindly around them, like ropes placed to snag a limb.

Ritchie stretched, “Should we go ahead and turn back a little early? I mean there’s really nothing else for us to do here, except walk.”

Ash chuckled looking at Gary as he busied himself about with his com, “Maybe just a little longer, in case we come across anything else he wants to grab.”

“If you say so,” Ritchie took a long glance at the passing trees, their branches seeming to weave together ever more as they walked further, any remaining light of the sun having trouble to find a break to shine through. Ritchie then felt Ash looking at him, he turned and Ash mouthed to him, ‘Are you okay?’ Ritchie quickly smiled back and nodded, to which Ash returned.

“These readings are just so,” Gary squinted at his com, _“Bizarre.”_

“I know right?” said Ash, “It’s all red and stuff, like the setting sun!”

“I was thinking more like blood.”

Ritchie gulped.

“Mh, how much farther can we go?” asked Gary, “We’re about to hit the end of the trail right?”

“Yeah, but we can go off just a little,” said Ash.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, totally, don’t worry, we only stop if our pokemon tell us to stop, then we – _ouf” –_ Ash was bumped forward against his seat as all four pokemon did indeed, come to a complete stop. The young men looked ahead, and saw nothing at the end of the trail except for the autumn-like foliage.

Gary looked to Ash and Ritchie who were looking forward as intently as their pokemon were, “Uh, wh-what is it?”

_Hmmmmmm –_

Slowly, the pokemon without ever breaking eye contact with what was ahead, began to back up with cautious trepid steps, Arcanine began to growl –

_HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 8’3_

“Why are they backing up?” Gary could feel Rapidash getting antsier by the second underneath him –

“Because we need to leave,” said Ritchie quickly –

“Okay we’re leaving,” said Ash in full agreement, “We’re leaving!” The pokemon turned themselves right on their heels, Tauros rearing a bit, and all began a fast-paced trot that quickly sped into a gallop as the wind blew harshly behind them, making the trees creak and groan, the gust sounding a like a deep, rotted exhaling breath –

_You do you ghosts, WE GONE! 8'D_

Rapidash, Tauros, Dodrio, and Arcanine didn’t stop their run till they were almost back at Max’s little camp, the group panting as the pokemon came to a stop with everyone taking a moment to work their shivers out; it was completely night now, and even colder than before.

 

“That’s creepy,” said Bonnie, now holding an old plushie of Squishy.

“Yeah,” Ash was leaning on Gary who decided to join them for the story, “When we got back to Max’s camp he could see we were a little rattled, said we could just split and call it a night, but there was one more thing we had to do out in the meadow, which was to get some field geo-scans, and all that pretty much is, is setting up the equipment and letting it do its thing, so Gary sent back Arcanine with all the data to the lab, and then we with Ritchie and Pikachu decided to go walk about the meadow under the stars, just chatting and stuff, but….that was a mistake too….”

 

Ritchie kicked off a rock, watching it skip across the dirt.

“You seem a little off yourself Ritchie,” said Gary, “Something wrong?”

“Nah, its, well, I’ll admit this place does give me the creeps.”

Gary rubbed his arms, “It, kinda gives me the creeps too, but maybe I can get to the bottom of why it is the way it is, then I’ll come explain it to you, and maybe it won’t seem so scary anymore because you’ll know how this place works.”

“I dunno,” said Ritchie taking aim at another rock, “Some things, they just stay scary, no matter what.”

“I know that’s true,” said Ash, “Those big doll things with the bright eyes? You put that in a room with me and I’m gone!”

Ritchie kicked off the rock, “Didn’t Misty used to tease you with them when y’all were together?”

“Oh my goodness yes, and one time, man she got me so good, I screamed and about jumped out the kitchen window!”

Pikachu sighed.

Ash rubbed his nose, “I mean it was pretty funny afterwards, but to be fair, she did put them up when I had a nightmare about them.”

Gary all the while had his lips pursed, “Well I wouldn’t do that.”

“No, you tease me about all the bumping and thumping our a/c does when it kicks on in the middle of the night to make me spoon you more."

Ritchie suddenly wrapped his arms around Ash nuzzling him over-affectionately, “Oh my sweet bewuved Ash, I’ll protect you from the scaries~” Ash playfully pushed him off,

“Pbbbbbth!”

“Really? Like you’ve never teased him?” said Gary with slant.

“Nope~ Never~”

“Well there was that one time” – but Ritchie put his hand over Ash’s mouth –

“I have never, ever teased him~”

Ash finally rolled his eyes as Ritchie trotted away from him, Gary meanwhile strolled right up to Ash, feeling the ground just a tad loose before he reached him, and put an arm around Ash’s waist –

_Just can’t help marking your territory, ah pBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTH –_

“And I don’t count that as a tease,” said Ritchie as he picked a couple flowers, “Because I scared my own stupid self telling you those stories.”

“Oh yeah you did,” said Ash with a slant of his own.

“You remember those disappearances Mary told us about?”

“Yeah,” Ash looked to Gary as he walked them a couple steps over, “There was a couple that disappeared mysteriously in this area a long time ago, she said they were here one moment, and then other” – Ash’s foot stepped through something and both Ash and Gary were sent plummeting below as the ground collapsed out from under them –

“ASH!!! GARY!!!”

“PIPIPIPI!!”

Ritchie and Pikachu scrambled to the collapsed ground, the hole dark almost all the way down – Ritchie snatched from his pocket a small flashlight and shined it down to find Ash and Gary with the wind knocked clean out of them, “ASH!! GARY!! SAY SOMETHING!!!”

Ash blinked the stars out of his eyes, he hurt, but he wasn’t too badly injured, the mud they landed into was wet and soft, albeit they were sinking a bit into it, “Gary?! _Gary are you okay?”_

“I’m, I’m in one piece, ow” –

“What hurts?”

“My legs, and, my side, but, nothing feels broken, ugh, is this mud or muck?”

“ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!”

“We’re okay!” Ash called up, rubbing his head, “Owieeee, Gary?”

“I’m good, I’m still good, ow…”

Ash helped Gary get to his feet as the two wobbled up together with the mud ever trying to suck the shoes off of them, both leaning on the seemingly slimy wall of the crevice/pit they had fallen into and each other. Ash began checked Gary’s body, touching here and there, “Anything hurting?”

“Touch a little lower” –

Ash made a flat face as he took one hand and rubbed it up Gary’s abdomen briefly, “Attitude in check," his face softened, "thank goodness you’re fine.”

“So fine~”

“Oh pbbbbbth” –

“Watch your heads!” Ritchie called, “It looks like you guys fell through a hole that was boarded up! And a very crappy job was done of it! The planks are loose and might fall! We’re going to throw down some rope in a sec!”

“Thanks Ritchie!” Ash called back up. Both young men began walking in place to try and keep themselves above the mud as Ritchie got the rope ready to hold their weight by knotting it around Rapidash who had galloped over with Tauros and Dodrio upon hearing the screams, Max appearing overhead as well. Ash and Gary heard faintly above Ritchie explaining what happened,

“Who the hell boards up a mud hole?!”

Gary rubbed his arms, “I can’t believe how cold it feels down here!”

“I can’t either,” said Ash, “When we get out of here, we’re going straight back to the station.”

“Yes, yes.”

Ash sighed through his nose as he began rubbing Gary’s arms to warm him up, “Well this has certainly been a day hasn’t it? Fine way to top it off.”

Gary nuzzled Ash, “Not a boring moment around you Love, anywho, with the data that I got, I think Trac…..ey……” Gary got a sudden, and gut squishing sense they were being watched from below.

“Gary?”

“Ash….look…”

Ash looked to what Gary was seeing, and from where they had fallen, there looked to be a some kind of hole through the roots that reached down through the wet soil, possibly the opening to a tunnel in the direction of the Fall Strip.

Ash and Gary gulped.

There was a cold hollow wind coming from the tunnel's gaping mouth.

 _Wind cannot do that, why are you doing that wind? You stop that wind. You can't just blow like that underground. Oh.....OH.....Gary_ _…you hear that? It’s, it’s just behind the wind, it sounds like, something is moaning…from the hole, the tunnel???….A-A couple things moaning, those aren’t words…those are strained sounds of, of pain –_

“Watch yourselves!”

Ash and Gary jumped as a rope was tossed down to them, “Alright, either tie it around yourselves, or climb on up, we got you!”

Ash helped Gary get unstuck from the mud, “Umph, alright, alrighty, Gary, up you go.”

“On what?” Gary looked at the make-shift pulley with the rope at hand, “The faith you have in me is going to have to give me a boost,” and a boost Ash gave with giving Gary a start up the rope, making himself sink just a tad but in the mud, but he got himself unstuck just as quickly.

“Taking that way are we?” came Max’s voice – aaaaaaaand Gary’s insides BURNED _,_ he pulled back on his early teens that he is NOT old, NOT by a long SHOT, mid-twenties is PRIME-TIME, just might be, a wee un-used to rope climbing, and his arms do NOT hurt and he is going, to, PULL, HIMSELF, UP, THIS, BLOODY, ROPE, IF, IT, BLOODY, KILLS HIM, TO, _PUNCH, MAX_ – Gary gave a final push up, reaching out almost blindly with his hand which Ritchie caught, and hauled him up and out of the whole. Max laughed quietly to himself, Rapidash gave Gary a comforting nuzzle, Ritchie gave him a quick one-arm hug, and when they all looked back down into the hole, Ash was gone, as was Gary’s heart as it flew out his chest –

“ASH!!”

No response –

_“ASH!!!!”_

Ritchie and Max were about to jump down the hole just as Ash hobbled back into view above the muck, “You guys! This tunnel” –

 _“GET UP THE GODDAMN ROPE!”_ Gary and Ritchie screeched together –

_“PIPIKAPI!!”_

_“WHIIIIHIHIHIHI!!!!”_

“Okay I’m coming, I’m coming up, I’m coming up,” said Ash, his voice a couple octaves higher, and scaled up the rope in no time at all, stumbling just slightly, then scrambling up, up, and out and away from the edge, out of breath, wide eyed, the group saw he was missing a shoe, “It just, it, um, it felt like something, tried to grab me, but, but I didn’t see anything, so it couldn’t have been, I mean” –

 

Bonnie’s eyes were wide as she hugged her plushie ever more.

“So yeah,” said Ash, “After that, we straight up left in record time, and Max went on to report that little meadow for possible instability after that little stunt.”

“I don’t get why someone would board up a mud hole, or tried to at least,” said Bonnie.

“To hide something,” said Gary, “crappy job as it was, it fooled us, and then down we went.”

Ash put his arm around Gary, pulling him in a bit, “It turns out during a later excursion, that tunnel…did indeed lead all the way to the Fall Strip, and even further…to the Under Hollow itself….and that night…” Bonnie could see Gary’s hand grip his pants hard, “…that’s when, _it came.”_

 

_After you both arrived home, y’all showered together, had some hot, and I mean hoooootatataTATATATAHOT SEX, to the point where you wore yourselves out (and almost broke off the shower door), threw on some clothes (just a shirt really in case y’all wanted to get it on again), and just curled up on the bed and passed out in no time at all….till, mmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, the noises started. Odd little noises on the crevice of your sleep, and then –_

Ash managed to open one sleepy eye to see Pikachu and Umbreon on high alert at the edge of the bed, looking at their bedroom door, which was wide, wide open. Pikachu gave a quick look back to Ash who sat up quickly, “What is it?” Umbreon growled, Pikachu’s ears went flat back – Ash heard a scratching noise come from the living room – “Gary, _Gary_ _get up right now” –_

Gary groggily mumbled as Ash got out of bed, “Mh?”

Ash quickly dug through his gear, pulling out his flashlight and a long piece of metal used for a tent, _“Something is in our home” –_

Gary shot up, _“What?” –_ Gary opened up his com, but the security system they had around their little home sent no emails in the last two hours of any movement detected from the cameras – Gary cursed, “The cameras might not be working” –

_“Shhh” –_

Everyone listened as Ash snuck his way towards the doorway, Pikachu and Umbreon ready to pounce should something even remotely show itself from the cover of darkness, another sound, this time more distant, “It has to be in the living room,” said Ash –

“Just close the door, let me call the police” –

“It could just be wild pokemon that somehow got in,” said Ash, “There’s no need for all that” –

“I think we’ve experienced enough to prepare for the worst!”

“If they wanted to try and hurt us they would have tried already, I didn’t open the door, it was open when I got up and Pikachu and Umbreon were just staring at it."

The hair on the back of Gary’s neck stood up, he looked to Pikachu and Umbreon, _“You two didn’t see anything?”_

By this time Umbreon and Pikachu had jumped down off the bed and joined Ash in his silent approach, but Pikachu doubled back, took Gary’s com, and typed out in a text panel for Gary to see – ‘The door opened by itself.’

Gary’s blood ran cold –

_OH HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL NAW –_

“Ash wait – wait for me” – Gary finally scrambled out of bed, looking for something to defend himself with, settled for the remote and joined Ash as he and their pokemon made their way into the darkness of the hallway.

_Ah yes, the remote, an underappreciated weapon with versatility in being thrown or repeatedly used in smacking the opponent’s head to create a minor inconvenience as they stab or maim the shit out of you –_

“This could be just some silly ghost pokemon messing around,” said Ash as he opened up a top rated app on his com that specifically scanned for ghost pokemon presences, “Alrighty, soon enough we’re going to know what’s behind this funny business….”

_As a beacon of bravery you are Gary, because you totally are, Ash and his training totally got this, they got dis, they got this right here, YUP – just, trail behind him juuuuuust a liiiiittle biiiiiiiit…._

Another sound came from the living room, this time sounding something like glass breaking – Gary felt Ash tense up as he pointed his flashlight down the hallway, _“HEY! You’ve got about two second to scram from here, or we and our pokemon are going to make you!”_

“BRE BRE!”

“PIKA PI!”

_I HAVE A REMOTE! DX_

For the longest time they heard nothing, Gary thought about reaching for the hallway light, but, Ash moved the light of the flashlight around the depths of their hallway, “What the…..” Gary could feel Ash shudder, he looked down at the end of the hallway where everyone’s attention was suddenly snagged and felt something was looking _right back at them._

“No ghost pokemon detected,” came the app’s robotic voice.

_8’D….._

Gary squinted, Ash moved the flashlight’s beacon down – and in the darkness – there definitely felt like something was staring at them. There were no concrete facial features that could be made out from the shadows, except for the possibility of wide gleaming glaring eyes.

“No ghost pokemon detected.”

Ash moved the light back up, they could see the bookcase, back down, the presence, back up the bookcase, back down – _the eyes –_ both Gary and Ash had tremors going through them – Gary whispered to Ash as an uncontrollable shudder went down his spine, “It _has to be a ghost type messing with us, the app is just glitching out” –_

“No ghost pokemon detected.”

“Um….y-you think so….?” Ash took a step back, putting his arm out to prevent Gary from going ahead of him, (not that he was however) something inside Ash screamed _DANGER,_ and Gary had enough – he reached over Ash’s arm and turned on the hallway light, sending away whatever face was hiding in the darkness.

The young men then heard a _thump….thump…..thump……..creeeeeaaaaaaaaaak……_ Ash, Gary, Pikachu and Umbreon could only watch as heavy footsteps made their floorboards creak in place, the presence walking slowly toward them with only the subtle movement of the floorboards as measure – something snapped in Ash that he did indeed have a most beloved boyfriend to protect – he gripped the flashlight and chucked it at the invisible presence – which did not trigger the most desirable outcome – the flashlight flew aimless across the hallway followed by everyone feeling a terrific blast of cold air shoot through the hallway - right past them - as if from an air canon while a _bloodcurdling **SCREAM**_ came from behind them from their bedroom sending everyone into an outright  _panic –_

_WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DDDDD8–_

Ash grabbed Gary’s arm and everyone bolted out the front door and out into the cold breeze of the night, the trees moaning, branches creaking as they moved with the wind –

_WE ARE FUCKING MOVING –_

Ash pointed his com light to the cabin since he so brilliantly threw the flashlight and not the metal pole, not that it would have made much of a difference –

_OH YEAH THAT’LL SHOW ‘EM, BLINK Y’ALL MOTHERFUCKERS –_

Pikachu and Umbreon hissed and barked up a storm as everyone tried to get their heart rates under control, _“Gary, are you okay?”_

 _“Oh I’m dandy,”_ Gary shook as he rubbed his arms, he glared at their little home, “What a fine way, to spend the evening YOU STUPID GHOST POKEMON!” Pikachu and Umbreon barked with him, “Umbreon, _you ready?”_

“Bre!”

“Pikachu, lets go teach them some manners!”

“PiKA!”

_Yeah! Ya’ll just gonna charge right back in there! Show those mean ghost types who’s boss! Just going to storm right in there! Bust open a can of Will-o-whoop-ass! Rawr!_

“Alright on the count of three,” said Ash as they focused on the open front door and the sheer darkness beyond out of the hallway light’s reach, “One, _two_ ….THREE!”

_RAAAAAAAAAAWR! DX_

Everyone charged back inside to the living room, Pikachu threatening with Thunderbolt* and Umbreon with Shadow Ball*, both disappearing into the darkness of the living room, “GET OUT, GET OUT YOU STUPID GHOST POKE – OUCH!” Ash stumbled to lean on the wall, dropping the metal pole, Gary quickly came to his aid in scooping him and ready to run back out – “No, no put me down, watch where you step I stepped on glass, ow ow, _crap” –_

“Just keep it elevated – Pikachu? Umbreon?!”

“Pipipi!”

“Bre..bre….”

Pikachu and Umbreon’s threat displays had almost instantly disappeared. The temperature inside of their home had dropped dramatically. Pikachu leapt up to turn on the living room light and not a single one of them was prepared for what they saw.

From the living room entrance, Gary and Ash saw the entire room completely wrecked, nothing was salvageable, and all over the walls, the ceiling, the floor, written in red: ‘I WANT YOU’, ‘I WANT YOU’, ‘I WANT YOU’, ‘I WANT YOU’, ‘I WANT YOU’, ‘I WANT YOU’– and in the center, plainly seen in the light, all in red, was a grotesque face with its mouth cut impossibly wide –

_BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE –_

Ritchie woke to his com ringing off the wall and almost vibrating off his nightstand. He caught it before it fell, pushed himself up with a mixture of grogginess and annoyance, saw it was Ash calling, and all that was replaced with a deep concern upon seeing it was a little past three in the morning, “Hey Ash? Wh” –

_“SOMETHING FOLLOWED US HOME!!!”_


	2. And It Was Heard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get wrecked Gary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it in time for Halloween! THANK-YOU COLDMAN9 FOR THE MOST TERRIFYING SEGMENT IN HERE 8D

For a moment Bonnie was frozen, “…..That really happened?”

“That really happened,” said Ash, he was leaning on Gary with his arm around him, “There wasn’t anyway we were going back inside our home for the time being, I pulled my Charizard from our Ranger app 'The Barn', and had it fly us over to Ritchie’s apartment with just the clothes on our backs. He was kind enough to give us a little more to wear, and we filled him in on what happened. We did a conference call with Max and Thomas, and they agreed we shouldn’t go back to our home until we understood a little more on what we were dealing with, of which, none of us had any clue. We’d figure something out in the morning, and regroup for now. Not that we got much sleep that night, if we even slept at all, and, when the morning came, so did something else….”

 

“Ash – Gary – get up, _get up!”_

“Pipipip!”

“Brebre!”

Ash woke a tad faster than Gary did, both young men curled up around each other like pretzels on Ritchie’s bed. Ritchie began to nudge Gary harder – “Gary c’ _mon_ , _get up!”_

Ash saw Ritchie was white as a sheet and sprang up, “What’s wrong?!”

Ritchie was shaking, in his hands looked to be some kind of figure, “Th-this was outside, in front of my door” –

Gary forced himself into coherency, and saw in Ritchie’s trembling hands a raggedy stick doll that was clearly modeled after himself, down to the very clothes that Ritchie had given him to wear.

_Ah, so that’s what it feels like to have blood drain out of your face._

Ritchie handed the doll over to Ash who was looking at it wide-eyed and in sheer terror, “When I woke up, I thought I heard something laughing, I thought it was my TV, I, I was going to pick us all up something to eat, but then, I, I heard the laughter again, I heard it coming my bedroom, where you guys were, but there was nothing, y’all were sleeping, and, so, so, I started looking around, and then I went out, and – and it was there, it was right there at my doorstep – I almost stepped on it! T-Thomas said we shouldn’t do anything to it, I can’t get a hold of Mary”–

Ash licked his lips from his mouth running dry, “She, she’s at that, the thing in Sinnoh,” he was having trouble forming thoughts, meanwhile Gary was brewing with them –

_It’s not what you think it is, this is stupid, this is so fucking stupid at this point Gary, it’s just a shitty stick doll that someone is using to play a mean stupid trick on you guys –_

“Is it a voodoo doll? Did the stories have that in them?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know” –

“We need to dispose of it! I can’t, I can’t have it try to hurt Gary” –

“Ash, Thomas said not to mess with it, just, we just have to think of something else for now, um, here,” Ritchie began scrolling through his com –

_Look – look at how bad it’s scaring Ash and Ritchie! This is nonsense, just get rid of it altogether, you don’t need this shit in your life, and for fucks sake Ash doesn’t need it AT ALL to eat him up inside!_

“Maybe it can be burned” –

“NO! That would set Gary on fire!”

"Pikapika!"

"Brebre!"

“You guys,” said Gary, “This isn’t a voodoo doll, that stuff isn’t real” –

“Okay, then, um, how about we keep it in a plastic bag?”

“No!!” He’ll suffocate! I’ll, I’ll just keep it safe with me,” Ash held the doll about as tenderly as if he was holding the real Gary, Ritchie continued to scroll through his com – but Gary had had enough – and snatched the doll right out of Ash’s hands, bouncing himself off the bed before either Ash or Ritchie or their pokemon had time to react – “What are you doing” –

Gary sped walk right over to Ritchie’s kitchen, pulling wide open his silverware drawer, and snatched out the first knife he saw, raising it to slash the doll to pieces –

 _“STOP!!”_ Ash knocked the knife and doll out of Gary’s hand and pushed him hard against the pantry door, _“What the hell is wrong with you?!”_

Gary knocked Ash’s hand off him, forcing him back – _“This isn’t real Ash,_ something, some stupid ghost pokemon, or psychic type _or what have you_ – whatever this is, is just trying to _scare us!”_

 _“Well its working!”_ Ash’s voice cracked, “I am _terrified,_ ” Ash’s hand shook at his side, Gary felt his chest tighten, getting short of breath, “I know, I know you don’t want this to be real anymore than I do, but _something is happening_ and we need to be careful, “Ash gave a heartbreaking smile, “C’mon, you’re supposed to be the level headed one here, I, _Gary….”_

Gary took a quick glance off to the side and saw Ritchie with his hands over his mouth and about to break into pieces any moment –

_Mother dick :( Okey, could have rolled that better._

Gary slowly let a breath out through his nose against his pounding heart rate, stepped forward, and wrapped his arms gently around Ash, Ash pulling him all in suddenly. Gary touched their foreheads together as his fear twisted in his chest like a tight coil, Ash feeling how badly Gary was shaking inside, even more than he was.

Ash swallowed, “You figure everything out Gary, let’s figure this out okay?”

_My god, look at how you two have rubbed off on each other._

Gary looked at the doll laying on the counter, its black eyes looking right back at him with a small glint, almost as life-like as a human’s. Gary turned back to Ash, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, I just, want to know” –

“And we’ll figure it out, we will, we always do, we always do,” Ash turned to Ritchie, holding out a hand to him, “C’mon, bring it in, get in here, _oof” –_ and the three of them hugged as hard as they possibly could, their pokemon watching from the side, and giving each other a little hug of their own.

 

Gary rubbed his face, his look downcast at first, “From here on out, it fixated itself onto me, and,” Gary took a deep breath, Ash nuzzled into him, “That doll, I was right, it wasn’t a voodoo doll, it was a message.”

 

Gary sat on the couch with Ash’s arm wrapped around them, watching the news with their pokemon, watching the world move as they dealt with this. The doll was placed simply on the table next to them. They had eaten, not much, but enough. Ash was able to get in contact with Mary, they had a conference call with Thomas, Max, and Rose with Mary saying she was going to send Chandelure over as soon as their business in Sinnoh was done for the day and have it, essentially, exorcise their home. After that, Chandelure was to stay by them to make sure the presence was sent back from whence it came. Until then, they would sit tight at Ritchie’s place. Max and Thomas covered Ash and Ritchie’s shifts for the day, and Rose would investigate further on what could have possibly followed Ash and Gary home.

Gary so wanted to believe it was just a pokemon messing with them, but then Rose threw around terms like ‘residual hauntings’, ‘poltergeists’, and ‘revenant’, which made Gary’s blood run cold.

 _THINGS SUCK. THAT’S ALL IM GONNA SAY. THINGS SUCK, THEY REALLY SUPER SUCK AND THE ONLY THING YOU WANT SUCKING THIS HARD IS AROUND YOUR DICK – then again, okay, Rose said_ ‘if there’s one thing I’m certain about in the paranormal, it is that the demons are no match for the sacrifice of love’ – _WHICH SOUNDS NICE IN THEORY, AND THEN, SHE SAID,_ ‘If you guys get scared, just imagine yourselves in a circle of white light, it will protect you’ – _YEAH RIGHT, HOW THE FUCK IS THAT GOING TO DO A GODDAM THING –_

Ritchie joined them on the couch, nudging Gary, breaking him out of his dissociation, he pulled out from his shirt a blue angel pendant, and handed it over to Gary, Ash perked up _, “Oh Ritchie” –_

Ritchie smiled, “Here Gary” –

“What is it?”

“It’s an angel pendant, it helped protect me for a while, I want you to have it, so now it can protect you from, whatever this is.”

Gary looked over to Ash and saw how touched he was from Ritchie’s gesture, in the end he couldn’t help but feel the same, even if he didn’t understand how a necklace was going to avert harm, but the sentiment, did make him feel a lot better. Gary placed it around his neck and tucked it in his shirt, “Thank-you Ritchie.”

Ritchie stood up, “I’m gonna go make some punch, any flavor requests?”

“Rum,” said Gary.

Ritchie rolled his eyes with Ash, “Pineapple it is then.”

Gary got up from Ash and Umbreon, “Hey Ritchie, where’s your bathroom again?”

“Down the hallway, to the right.”

“’Kay, I’ll be right back.”

 

Bonnie slapped her hands to her face –

Gary made a sour face, “Yes I know its trope and stupid one at that, ya learn something new everyday” –

Clemont’s bottom half suddenly came into com view, “Every time I pass by here Bonnie, you have more and more stuff to huddle with” –

“And now you’re here, _sit,”_ Bonnie yanked Clemont down to sit next to her –

“Oof!”

“Hey Clemont,” smiled Ash.

“Ah! Hey Ash, hello there Gary!”

“Good to see you Clemont,” said Gary.

_Fellow scientist holla~_

“So what’s going on here?” said Clemont, “I thought you were giving Bonnie camping tips or something? But now she looks scared!”

“I’m not scared, I’m entertaining the mood” –

“I’m telling Bonnie about what happened to Gary and I, during a couple trying days.”

“They were haunted,” said Bonnie.

“Really now?” said Clemont with a skeptic voice, but the look on Ash and Gary’s face knocked him a clean 180 – _“Really now?”_

“Really, really,” said Gary.

Clemont looked to Bonnie’s vice grip on him, “Ah, well then, please continue where you left, no need to recap for me.”

“Long story short bro,” said Bonnie, “Something followed them home from a forest trip, and stuff just starts happening!”

“Oh yes,” said Gary, “And after I left for the bathroom, stuff ‘really’ started happening.”

 

Gary made it down the hallway, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a lamp that hung from the ceiling swing. Paying it no mind, Gary opened the bathroom door, turned on the sink, and began washing his face.

_Nothing like a little H20 to get these nerves under control because holy hell Gary you are a lamb’s tail shake away from having a full blown panic attack._

Gary had left the bathroom door open, he could hear the TV down the hallway and Ash and Ritchie talking…he could also hear the lamp from the ceiling swinging again. He turned the water off, he could still hear the lamp swing, on the floor, he could even see its shadow moving in and out of view – and for a moment, in place of the shadow of the swinging lamp, _Gary_ _saw the shadow of a swinging body –_

_FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU –_

 Gary closed the door, and gripped the angel pendant around his neck –

_SCREAM FOR ASH – SCREAM FOR ASH – SCREAM FOR ASH!!!!!! Okay no, you know what, it’s not what you think, it’s totally not what you think, you see, you have entered a state of paranoia and every little thing is going to set you off, your mind is just playing tricks on you, it’s totally a trick of the mind, even if it was something, which, you know you got this angel pendant that YOU HOPE TO GOD DOES SOMETHING you’re just going to walk out the bathroom door, and right back to Ash’s arms. For fuck’s sake he’s right there, he’s right down the hall, you can totally scream for him but you got this, you got this, just open the door, and walk riiiiight baaaack over to him – do it Gary, open the door, and get back to Ash’s strong arms –_

Gary opened the door, the lamp wasn’t swinging anymore, but there was a long shadow that reached from it down pass the hallway –

“Ash, Ash” –

_WHAT ARE THOSE SQUEAKS?! LOUDER THAN THAT GARY, SCREAM GARY!!! AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE THE STRONG ONE GARY????_

Feeling doused in ice, Gary’s legs felt like cement, the shadow wasn’t moving, but Gary just knew it was waiting to pounce on him as soon as he left the bathroom. Gripping the pendant till it felt like he would draw his own blood, Gary left the bathroom, and whatever possessed him to look where the lamp was, he would never know.

 

“Bonnie you are going to break my hand!” said Clemont.

“I was going to say the same to you! And you haven’t even heard much!”

“If you’re this scared now from a story, what do think your friends are going to do when you guys are out in the woods” –

“Oh please no – no you know what I don’t need you, shoo! Shoo!”

“No I am staying right here!”

Ash sighed as the siblings got on their full blown bickering, “Gary, let’s skip over this part,” but Ash saw Gary with a most far away look as he recounted internally one of the worst memories of his entire life.

 

Gary wanted to scream, he really did. He wanted to tear his eyes away and run screaming into some small corner like when he was child, just scream until his throat was simply unable to produce sound anymore. He wanted to close his eyes and pretend that what he was seeing wasn't real, he KNEW it wasn’t real, Ash was sitting just down the hallway from him – if anyone would even glance down the hallway they would see Gary and the horrifying vision that kept his feet grounded where he stood.

It wasn’t real….but still…..Gary saw Ash’s hung body sway back and forth in the air, held up only by the lamp cord wrapped around his neck.

Gary’s legs finally gave out, bringing him to the floor in a heap as his gaze finally tore away, *No. No no no, this isn't happening….It’s not, I’m going to get up and walk back over to my Ash, my Ash, my Ash – *

"You are supposed to be the strong one Gary."

Gary froze, the words making his body go frigid as he slowly brought his gaze back up. Ash’s head had canted to the side, his broken neck unable to support the weight of his head, but his gaze was as clear and full as ever and trained right on Gary's own. The scientist felt himself begin to shake uncontrollably.

"Have you nothing to say to me? Not even now?”

Ash’s head looked around, the broken bones of his neck making a horrible grinding sound as he did, “Where were you when I really needed you? Is this what you wanted me to do all along?”

"This isn't real," Gary whispered, "This can't be real."

"But it is real," and Ash gave him a smile that had nothing to do with kindness, "Want me to show you how real it is?"

Faster than seemed possible, Ash's hand shot up and grabbed hold of the cord keeping him suspended. With a quick yank the line snapped, dropping the young man to the floor in a heap that made Gary cringe as he heard the _thump,_ feeling it through the vibration of the wooden floor.

Everything was horribly still for a few seconds, then Ash's hand shot out again, gripping the floor in front of him and using it to pull his body forward.

“Won’t you show me affection?” Ash’s voice whispered.

The scream still wouldn't come, but Gary finally found the strength to push himself away from Ash's body. The corpse followed him, strangely quick for a dead body. Gary scrambled back against the wooden floor, desperately trying to put distance between himself and Ash, but the hallway seemed to only make itself longer and longer and longer.

Ash finally caught up, his hand shot out, and wrapped tightly around Gary's ankle. The scream was there, on the tip of his tongue, but there was no time to let it out against the sudden feel of cold fingers creating an impossibly strong grip, tightening slowly as if trying to break the bones in his legs and feet. He kicked out, the grip loosening enough for him to slip his foot free and scramble up, darting through the ever elongating hallway.

"Come back Gary," there was a dark pleading in Ash's voice. On the surface it sounded sincerely hurt, but all the undertones promised nothing but pain and horror if he dared to turn around, **_"Don't you love me?"_** and then the words devolved into twisted laughter.

Gary tripped into the walls, bumped into furniture, knocked over anything and everything in his desperate attempt to put distance between himself and Ash. Gary didn't feel a thing other than his heart pounding in his chest and the all consuming need to be away from the man he had so loved - _and still_ \- he could hear the horrible shuffle as Ash pulled his broken body across the floor, following his former boyfriend through the twisting and winding labyrinth of the hallway as it morphed into maze before his very eyes. More than once Gary caught sight of movement on the floor out of the corner of his eye, prompting him to quicken his pace lest the corpse catch him again.

It felt like Gary was running for years, but maybe it was only a few minutes, or he was passed out and having a horrendous nightmare. Either way, it was brought abruptly to an end as he felt his legs get tangled up in something, sending Gary sprawling to the ground and slamming against a wall. The shuffling was closer than ever and all Gary could do was curl into a fetal position, wrapping his arms over his head and close his eyes.

"This can't be real," he mumbled to himself, "This can't be real. Please don't let it be real."

_"Gaaaaaary~”_

"It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.”

"Oh _Gaaaaaaaary~”_

"It's not real. It's not real. It'snotrealit'snotrealit'snotreal."

"Gary?!”

“GARY?!”

“Please just go away!”

“GARY GET UP! GET UP!! GET UP PLEASE!”

 

Gary felt a gentle hand cupping his face, followed by just as gentle a voice, “Come back Gary, come back now.”

Gary blinked himself out of the terrible memory, taking a deep shuddering breath, and placing his hand over Ash’s.

“Where are you Gary?”

“I’m here,” Gary replied almost breathlessly. As Bonnie and Clemont continued their bickering, Ash slipped Gary a passionate kiss, bringing him fully back around. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of seconds that Gary was gone, but that horrible vision, now memory, could age him in an instant.

“Do you want to stop?” Ash asked, “We don’t have to re-live this ever again.”

“No, no, let’s continue, I want to conintue.”

“Okay,” Ash gave Gary another kiss, and the couple looked back to the siblings, still bickering. Ash cleared his throat, “Sooooooo, do you guys want to hear anymore, ooooor?” –

“YES!” Bonnie screeched, slamming her hands on the table shaking the vid-com, Clemont straightened his glasses with a flustered look, “Inquiring minds need to know!”

Gary took the lead, clearing his throat, “When I stepped out of restroom, I had slipped on the water that spilled over from the sink when I washed my face ever so enthusiastically, I never, felt the change in reality, it was all so seamless….While passed out I had a terrible nightmare, that will, probably haunt me the rest of my life….Later we would come to find out that the nightmare I had was the presence, trying to break me down, and it….” Gary’s throat closed up, his eyes welled up, he put his hand over his mouth as the urge to cry burned his face –

_“Oh Gary” –_

Gary sniffed, gaining back some composure, _“It came pretty damn close.”_

 

_You know what you haven’t had in a while Gary? A PANIC ATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK –_

Gary clutched his chest as his lungs just couldn’t get enough air, heaving in and out, in and out – and his head hurt, it hurt, it hurt so much – Ash and Ritchie had carried Gary back to the couch, they found Gary flat on the ground with the stick doll of him in his hand – and as to how it got there since Gary clearly didn’t take it with them, they’ll never know. Gary had said he was fine, then two seconds later, he very much wasn’t fine.

Ash was right by his side with Umbreon, his hands steadily clasped around Gary’s, “It’s okay, it’s okay Gary. Breath in, and out, breath in, and out.”

“Bre…Bre…Bre…Bre,” Umbreon was keeping time with Ash. Pikachu returned with Ritchie with an ice pack, a pill bottle, and a glass of water.

“Pikachu said it was this one,” said Ritchie.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Ash, “I remember you two have the same anxiety medicine, here Gary,” Ash pulled Gary to lean on him, and placed the ice pack against his head.

Gary reached out with a trembling hand to take the pill from Ritchie, but he just couldn’t focus himself enough yet to even grab it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay Gary, we’re right here, we’re all right here,” Ash gave Gary a kiss on his cheek, “Keep breathing, in and out, in and out, in and out.”

After almost half an hour, and some help from Sparky's training, Gary was stable enough to take the medicine. He curled up in Ash’s lap with the ice pack on his head, Ash fully supporting his body.

“Just look at me Gary, feel how real I am, this is all real, I love you so much, I love you so very much.”

Gary managed to choke out, “I love you too.”

Max stopped by during his lunch break with Pidgeot and was greeted by Ritchie who told him they couldn’t wait for Chandelure, they needed a Top Ranger ghost-type with them _now, and he was sick of not being able to get a hold of anyone –_

_“I don’t know what’s going on with my com it’s being so stupid! Ash’s com is being stupid too!”_

Ash all the while cradled Gary in his lap, the pill working as planned, with Gary falling asleep from Ash’s gentle rocking, cooing, and warmth. The doll was on the table again, the glint in its black eyes again very much looking like that of a real life human’s. Ash gave a wobbly sigh through his nose as Ritchie took a seat next to him with Max,

“How are you doing mate?” asked Max, Ash replied with a sad smile,

“I haven’t seen him like this since….”

Ritchie placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder, “We’re all going to get through this together. We’re going to protect him Ash.”

Max took one look at the doll and shuddered, “You guys I’m so sorry, I swear to you Ash we’re going to figure this out, I called Mary, she’s sending Chandelure over right now, there’s no better ghost-type we have.”

“Thank-you, thank-you,” said Ash, “Chani should be able to snuff this right out!”

Gary grunted and woke up, “Ash?”

“I’m here Gary,” Ash pressed another kiss to Gary’s face, “Mary is sending Chandelure over right now, just hang on a little longer, this all will be over soon.”

And all too suddenly they were to be tested yet again, as deep thumping from above rattled the ceiling.

Pikachu, Sparky, Pidgeot, and Umbreon growled.

“Noise neighbors you have Ritchie?” said Max.

“There’s no one up there,” Ritchie shook.

Umbreon took one look at Gary turning white as a sheet and barked a charge at its fellow pokemon who nodded in agreement _– it was time for a proper counter attack._

But what that exactly was against a presence, they had no clue. Everyone heard something break from the kitchen, followed by the smallest laugh, as if it came from a child.

Max stood up to his fullest height, hands on his hips, “Listen here you spook, you’ve had enough of your fun, how about you leave these fine gentlemen alone and get back to your grave.”

No response.

“Good talk Max,” said Ritchie flatly.

They heard thick heavy footsteps on the kitchen tile, and saw a shadow walk partially onto the wooden floor of the dining room from where they could see via the living room.

Max cleared his throat, but what came out was not a HURRAH! It was more like a ‘hey’ – “You stop that now” –

The footsteps stopped, but the shadow stayed, wavering softly from side to side.

Gary gripped Ash’s hand, pulling himself up, _“You’re not going to fool me this time! I see you, you stupid ghost, and you, are nothing!”_ Gary moved to make himself stand, Ash right next to him supporting him, “I’m not scared of you! There’s nothing you can do to me when we’re together!” All the pokemon grunted in kind.

The shadow retreated back into the kitchen without a sound. More sounds came from above, like furniture being moved about.

“I think we should leave,” said Ritchie –

“And where would we go?” said Ash, “This thing is obviously following us!”

“You guys will come to my station,” said Max, “I know Mary doesn’t approve of some of the stuff Rose does, but I let her do her thing, so if anyplace might give this thing heartburn, that would be it.”

“Okay, alright” –

“Got clothes and food there, let’s go, let’s go” – and everyone began inching towards the door, all totally on guard – Ash let go of Gary for one second to grab the anxiety medicine off the table and that horrid doll, and when he turned back, Gary was gone.

 

Bonnie and Clemont held each other.

“According to Ritchie and Max,” said Gary, “They said they felt, like, a vacuum of wind, and then, when they looked to me, I was just gone. I felt like I had just dropped 20 flights, maybe blacked out again, but I couldn’t have. Unbeknownst to me, I was in fact still in Ritchie’s apartment…Rose said the presence wouldn’t be able to take me very far, but all it really needed to do was separate me from Ash, which it very much succeeded in.”

 

Gary grabbed his bearings, and found himself in yet another hallway, a shorter one given, a door at one end that showed the way to the living room and a bookcase at the other with Ritchie’s bedroom just beyond it, regardless, Gary’s second panic attack was already coiling up in his gut, he moved to grab the angel pendant still around his neck, and felt a tug at it – then in one fell swoop, the pendant was ripped clean off his neck, and he was struck with a slap to the face so hard that it knocked him into the wall,

“AH – ASCKCK” – Gary’s hands went to his throat, he couldn’t scream for Ash! The stinging pain of the strike as he blinked stars out of his eyes almost sent him to his knees, Gary tried to scramble away, but he tripped over his own lumbering footing, until cold, cold hands caught him in mid-air around his waist, neck, and over his mouth. In one sustained moment, Gary felt a cold breath on his neck before he was bit savagely on his shoulder and slammed violently on his stomach to the ground. He couldn’t scream, he could barely try to claw himself away against the hardwood floors, but something kept him in place against his struggling – he felt himself get stabbed into his side, he felt claws or knives or both rake down his back, legs, and arms all at once – Gary gained some ground with his thrashing about, pulling purely against what he felt had to be meat hooks dug into his back attempting to pull his very skin off the muscle – he still couldn’t scream, but he could make noise! He banged the wood, kicked the walls, anything, anything to help bring attention to help fight off this force! His voice only gurgled in his throat as if he was choking on water, he felt his arm get yanked so hard he thought for sure it was dislodged, taking the rest of his body with it as he was slammed into the opposing wall, and then again to the floor –

_“GARY!! GARY!!”_

Gary heard people running towards him as fast as they could – he saw them, Ash and Ritchie – just before the door slammed shut by itself – but was busted down just as fast with Ash and Ritchie kicking down the door –

Gary reached out, his throat burned, but was finally able to scream for Ash, he reached out, but was pulled halfway down the hallway by a vicious unworldly growl just out of their saving dive for him – “GARY!!” Ash and Ritchie scrambled for him, but each time Gary was just pulled out of reach – the large bookcase down the hallway rocked dangerously side to side, threatening its weight to crush the poor scientist if they didn’t reach him in time! The Rangers scrambled up, Gary tried to scramble himself up again –

_“ASH HELP ME” –_

Ash dove again, snagging Gary’s hand as the threat of the bookcase walked itself violently over – Ash and Ritchie pulled Gary out from underneath it just as the shelves and contents crashed down and shattered into pieces as they shielded Gary with their bodies.

“OVER HERE! THEY’RE OVER HERE!” came Max’s voice.

Ash and Ritchie wasted no time for a reunion, Ash scooped up Gary, who was utterly in tears clinging to Ash, Ritchie yelled at everyone to get on Pidgeot, and they all high-tailed it out of Ritchie’s apartment and over to Max’s station.

 

Bonnie and Clemont were now huddled under a blanket together, “Are you okay?” she asked with a tremor in her voice. Ash had his arm around Gary, just about cradling him, Gary rubbed his shoulder.

“I am now,” said Gary, “But that…” his eyes were glossed over again, looking far away, he scratched the back of his neck, unable to continue, Ash pulled him in again and gave him a kiss, giving him his voice back, although hoarse, “From all the, from what, from what I felt, which I felt like I was being _gutted alive,_ there wasn’t a scratch on me, except for a lone bite mark on my shoulder that drew a little blood.”

Ash kissed his shoulder.

“So, so, then, like what did you guys do?!”

“We went to Max’s Ranger station,” said Ash, “Like I said, we didn’t know where else to go because whatever this was, it was following us for sure, and we weren’t going to let it near anyone else. At the Ranger station, we felt, maybe we could get a leg up on it there because of the stuff Rose had done, somehow, and thaaaaaat, only proved how wrong we were.”

“Yeah,” said Gary, “I mean I didn’t know all the stuff Rose was into, but, um, those interests are, just a tad concerning.”

 

Ash placed the Gary doll down next to the anxiety medicine on the computer table, of which Gary had taken another dosage (and as did Ritchie). Looking about Max’s Ranger station was like looking through, what some could describe as, a bachelor’s pad. It was probably nice before, but it’s not too nice now. The tile didn’t match, the walls were covered in posters ranging from personal to work related, and, it was, for all intents and purposes, an organized mess.

“Just watch where you step, if you need anything, just ask,” said Max.

Gary just wanted everything to be over, over, over, just OVER, but it couldn’t be over when yet another pair of dead, dull, doll eyes was looking at him from another accursed bookshelf. Gary, sick of the fear, strolled right over and snatched it right off the shelf –

“Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is” –

Max turned and looked from his computer, “Oh! No no no no, that’s just a puppet, it’s not a Mimikyu shell, Rose left that here for Mary, says she spent a small fortune on it, it could pass for a shell I’d think! Said if Mary wanted to, um, talk with past, the past could just talk through the puppet!”

 

Bonnie and Clemont just looked at Ash and Gary with a forsaken face that read ‘you have got to be fucking kidding me.’

Ash had his eyes closed and hands clasped over his mouth in a brief moment of thought, Gary was pinching the bridge of his nose with his head down in defeat. Ash looked to Bonnie, “You know, it was like, when you see the train coming, but you think that train is not for you – yet it is headed directly for you and in some magic moment it’s gonna swerve and miss?”

“Oh boy.”

Ash took a deep breath, and rocked on his chair, “So yup, yuuuuuuuuuuup, you can probably guess where this is going” –

“Did you guys just run down the list of how to mess up with ghosts in every possible way” –

Both Ash and Gary stuck their tongues out at Bonnie.

“So what happened next?!” squeaked Clemont.

 

Max had his com on speaker as the group talked with Mary, and Rose via a group call, Chandelure now floating about them with a most bored expression on its face.

“If that’s what happened to Gary, then that hallway should have been filled with blood” –

 _“We’re not making this up,”_ Ash growled,

“I’m not saying you guys are,” said Mary, “Listen, I believe you, it’s just going to be hard to get any proper documentation” –

“What proper documentation do you need?” came Rose’s voice, “What is happening right now is beyond anything, _anything_ I have ever done any, documentation on!”

“A picture, recording, _something,_ I know you guys had that doll, but anyone can make a doll _” –_

“Well that and Chandelure burned that doll to a crisp in its fire,” said Ash.

_GOOD FUCKING BYE YOU EVIL STUPID DOLL 8D THAT FELT GOOD HUH GARY?! As soon as Chandelure got here, and spotted that fucking doll, it sucked it up and burned it into nothingness! Yeah Ash had a minor heart attack in thinking you were going to disappear – but you didn’t! HAHA 8D_

“Well then lets get this going,” said Max, “Have Chandelure do an Observance and Collect mission at Ash and Gary’s place, then at Ritchie’s place, make sure they’re all clean as whistle before anyone goes back. Thomas has taken up the rest of my shift as well, I can scope things out with the Charizards and Chani and let these poor boys rest.”

“The spirit still needs to be taken care of,” said Rose, “Ash, Gary, it struck at your home first right?”

“Yeah.”

“Point of first contact, Chandelure should go there and just burn all the spiritual energy out, and then Ash and Gary can fill it with their own energy again – that will draw the spirit back to them, and then Chandelure can take care of the rest, right Mary?”

 _“I guess,_ ghost pokemon shepherd the dead, and Chani can send it _right back to hell.”_

The fire and ghost pokemon popped one of its flames with a ‘meh’ expression.”

“Do you think, Chandelure, might be able to find out, why it has fixated itself on me?” said Gary.

Chandelure barked at Pikachu, and Pikachu took Ash’s com and spelled out in a text message ‘your auras are really bright, it would attract a lot of attention in areas with a lot of pain.’

“Well that makes sense,” said Rose.

Gary gulped.

Chandelure barked at Pikachu again, and Pikachu spelled out, with a deeply concerned look on its face, ‘They like easy targets, your soul is easier to break Gary; that is my best guess.’

 _“That’s a load of crap!”_ Ash snapped, _“There’s no way I’m going to let it take you,”_ Ash immediately pulled Gary in.

“Listen, let’s just get this done, Chani!” Chandelure perked up to attention at Mary’s voice, “You know this better than any of us, do what you think is best to help Ash and Ritchie.” Chandelure nodded, and in a crack of fire, the ghost pokemon was gone.

“Well hell should have done that from the start,” said Max scratching his head.

“You guys just hang in there,” said Mary, “I wish, I so wish I could be there for you right now.”

“We have Chani here, but thank-you,” said Ash, “And with any luck this nightmare will soon be over.”

“It’s going to get dark soon,” said Ritchie, “You think Chandelure will get it done before then?”

“Let’s hope so.”

 

Bonnie and Clemont let out a sigh, “Great! Everything ended well right?” said Bonnie, “Chandelure totally burned that stupid ghost to a cinder!....Right?”

“Well,” said Ash, “Things would have gone a lot smoother, if it was only dealing with just, one, presence.”

“Whut.”

“As we came to find out, what was following us, had a following of its own. Chandelure did clean out our homes of any negative energy that latched itself there, but it had no idea what it was truly up against. We all decided to spend the night at our place….you know, just to be together, after all that happened, I mean our living room was still totally wrecked, so we appreciated the help in cleaning it up, but….this thing, this presence….We thought we were finally, _finally safe_ ….But we just walked into one giant trap.”

 

Gary gave a deep sigh, unable to get to sleep. He _couldn’t_ get to sleep, he felt like he was being watched by black, dull, doll eyes from every corner of their living room. Even with Ash spooning him from behind, even with his pokemon sleeping at the edge of their makeshift floor bed, Gary felt, _scared,_ in their own home.

Ash’s arms wrapped themselves around Gary, “You okay?”

“No,” Gary answered truthfully, “I don’t…feel that it’s over.”

Ash kissed the back of Gary’s neck, “It’s the anxiety Gary, you took your dose right?”

“Yeah I did, but that’s not it….”

“Chani cleaned out everything though. Ritchie, Max, Umbreon, Pikachu, Sparky, and our Charizards are all asleep right here with us” – Ash felt Gary suddenly tense up like a spring –

_“Then who’s that in the corner of the room” –_

Ash shot up like a rocket with Gary, their pokemon scrambling up just as fast – Pikachu and Umbreon bristling up upon seeing in the corner of the living room, _two glistening eyes,_  Ash growled with their pokemon – _“You just don’t know when to quit do you?!”_

Max and Ritchie snapped awake, as did the Charizards – everyone looked to the corner of the room – “HOLY SHIT”– the Charizards got in position to protect and roared –

Gary was shaking in Ash’s hold, his hand went to the side of his head in agony, “It wants me, it wants me!” Gary cried, _“Its saying I won’t ever be lonely again, not even in hell” –_

“Don’t listen to it Gary!”

Pikachu, Sparky, and Umbreon all fired off attacks, doing some pretty good damage to their walls and nothing else – the eyes remaining in the corner of the room –

_“The hell is that?!”_

Gary held out his hand to push something away, but yanked his hand right back with a fresh burn on his palm! –

_“Gary!”_

“Don’t ghost hate like salt or something?!” said Max –

“Yeah? Yeah! I think so!”

“Where’s your salt?!”

“Charizard! Get the salt!” Ash yelled.

Ash’s Charizard lumbered over to the kitchen, grabbed the nearest bag of fine white bits it saw – and chucked the whole thing at the living room corner, the bag making contact with a dull thud, falling uselessly to the floor –

“Charizard that was flour!” –

Charizard grabbed the next bag, the real salt bag, and chucked it, which also landed with a thud, and fell just as uselessly.

_WILL YOU STOP THROWING SHIT LIKE A GODDAM POKEBALL??? THIS ISN’T WORKING!!!!_

Ritchie’s Charizard readied a Fire Blast*– “No! You’ll burn the house down!! Your fire does NOT work like Chandelure’s fire!”

The eyes suddenly dropped from the wall, and out from the darkness, the Mimikyu puppet slid towards the group –

 

“Okay I’m going to stop you right there,” said Clemont, “Can we just, skip over that part, with the puppet, you know, just get to the happy ending already?”

“I honestly don’t blame you,” said Ash.

“You big scardy cat!” said Bonnie, “I heard everything and you are going to hear the rest!”

“Are you sure Bonnie?" said Gary, "The first thing we saw with the Mimikyu puppet was these long spindly fingers reaching out from under it, which turned into a long arm, and then another long arm, till it looked like a humanoid spider with arms” –

“Okay, nevermind we’re done, we’re done with that part,” said Bonnie, _“Then what happened?”_

“Our Charizards roasted the thing per our command," said Ash, "and pretty much set our house on fire, but, thank god Max had his secret weapon Dewgong on call, or that would have been it for our home. Needless to say after this, we had a lot of repairs to do.”

_“No kidding.”_

 

_“Did anyone else notice that thing had a rope around its neck?”_

_“No I was bit preoccupied screaming and shitting myself.”_

“Call Mary! Get Chandelure back here right now!!” said Ash.

“You, you guys hear that?!”

Everyone sat still for a moment to hear the sound of voices. It sounded like something, or multiple things were singing, laughing, talking, whispers, whispers all about – Gary gripped Ash – _“Ash I can’t, I can’t anymore!”_

“Let’s get back to the station!” –

It was then Gary felt like someone grabbed his hair and bent him all the way back – and he saw as he was bent over red, red, red gleaming eyes – he felt the sensation of falling, falling, falling, till he felt he landed on something soft, their bed - he was suddenly back in their bedroom, alone – _“ASH! ASH!"_

“GARY!!” Ash bolted for Gary’s voice coming from their bedroom – and the voices, the voices focused into one heard all about….

_‘Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are_

_Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky’_

The cold returned, Gary was shivering so hard that he could see his breath – “ASH!! ASH!!!” – the voice suddenly came from the window –

_‘When the blazing sun is gone, when the nothing shines upon’ –_

“I’M COMING!”

Ash crossed the threshold of their bedroom with the door slamming itself shut just before Ritchie trailed by Max could reach them – a painful thud telling they weren't able to break through the energy that moved it - Ash wrapped himself around Gary – they had no means of escape – the voice moved again –

_‘Then you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle all the night’_

To above them on the ceiling –

_‘Then the traveler in the dark, thanks you for your little spark’ –_

The edge of the bed got pressed down –

“GO AWAY!!!”

_It was right in front of them –_

**_‘He could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so’_ **

Ash felt Gary suddenly start convulsing in his arms, his eyes were rolling back, he was foaming at the mouth – “NO NO, GARY! GARY!” – he felt something trying to pull Gary away, but Ash’s grip on him tightened tenfold as he stumbled back out of the bed with Gary’s shaking body – “HELP! HELP! SOMEONE HELP US PLEASE!” – Ash was backed into the corner of their room, there wasn’t any help that could reach them, that could break through the presences’ power – and if Ash didn’t do anything soon, he would lose the love of his life forever –

He remembered Roses’ words, *‘if there’s one thing I’m certain about in the paranormal, the demons are no match for the sacrifice of love’ – sacrifice? – ‘If you guys get scared, just imagine yourselves in a circle of white light, it will protect you’ – I, I need a circle! _A circle of me!*_

From their nightstand, Ash pulled out his clippers, flipped the small knife edge open, and used it to cut across his hand – he heard a howling severed roar cut through the air – _“Oh please let this work” –_ and with using his own blood, Ash drew a circle around himself and Gary – looking up in time to see their chair flung clean across the room at them – Ash shielded Gary as the chair shattered all around them, he looked and saw the circle he had drawn in his blood had boiled on the wood –

_WOW, OKAY, OKAY THAT, WORKED??? HOW SPECIAL ARE YOU SON THE FUCK –_

Ash cradled Gary against the snarling presence, holding up his hand with the freshly bleeding cut, “See that?! See what I’m willing to do to protect him?! You don’t have any power here spirit! I won’t let you hurt him anymore!” Gary had stopped shaking, and Ash prayed to any deity that could hear that he wouldn’t stop breathing, _“Stay with me Gary, stay with me please”_ – the roar returned, making their entire room shake as if it was stuck by an earthquake, knocking everything asunder except within the circle Ash had made. _“SCREAM ALL YOU WANT! YOU CAN’T HAVE HIM!”_

Their bed flung up and over, smashing down on top of them, but they were never stuck, the circle’s blood boiled and burned, Ash held Gary as tightly as he could as their entire room began to smash itself into oblivion, windows shattered, TV burst, the ceiling broke in, but not once did Ash feel even a speck of dust touch them. Then everything went quiet.

Ash looked up, he could see a mist, like a breath on glass, that couldn’t penetrate the circle.

Ash shook, but his resolve was clear in his voice, “You listen to me, there’s not a force in this world or the next that will stop me from protecting him – I don’t care, if you’re the _devil itself,_ _I’m not going to let you take Gary away!”_ Ash pulled back his fist, _“You want his soul – you’re going to have to get through me!”_ – and punched forward, striking something as hard as metal, and in that moment, Chandelure teleported itself in, and drowned everything in a sea of purple fire.

 

Bonnie and Clemont let out a deep sigh of relief, “Oh thank heaven!”

“I mean Gary and I are both here, you know we’re going to make it out,” said Ash.

“Still that’s! That! Just – you guys went through that!”

“Yeah we did, and we’re still here.”

“….From Chandelure’s flames, I watched every single presence burn,” said Ash, “There were so many….I felt sick afterwards, really, really sick, and then I just, wanted Gary to wake up.”

 

The morning came with a silent break. A Ranger’s Blissey finished up a Heal Pulse* on Gary, whom Ash still cradled in his arms with Ritchie, Sparky, Umbreon, and Pikachu nearby. Everyone was outside on the lawn, Mary and Thomas finally joined the group with a host of other Ranger pokemon, and that’s when Gary moved in Ash’s arms, “Gary?!” Gary opened his eyes, his voice light and off-center,

“Ash?”

 _“Oh Gary, Gary, Gary, my Gary,”_ Ash nuzzled him and planted kisses all over his face, cradling him   _“Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you…”_

“Ash, is it _gone?”_

 _“It’s gone, its gone,_ you’re safe now, I’ve got you, I’ve got you, and I’m not _ever_ going to let go.”

 

Gary looked to Ash, “I always knew Ash was my hero, and from then on, I knew he was my guardian angel too.” Ash blushed and smiled back.

“Did you guys ever find out what the presence, or um, presences were?!”

“No,” said Gary simply, “we never did, but perhaps we don’t need to. All we know is that it was beyond scary and just plain evil. The closet thing that we might have was an inscription inside of the tunnel hole Ash and I fell through, Rose sent one of her drones in to take some pictures, and it sent one back showing this weird language carved on one of the tree roots which when translated read as, ‘The Inside.’”

Bonnie and Clemont shivered.

“Yeah, we are never, EVER, going back to that part of the woods again.”

“But what you did Ash,” said Bonnie, “You did some kind of witchcraft with your blood!”

“It wasn’t witchcraft,” said Ash flatly –

“Yes it was” –

“No it wasn’t –

 _“Bonnie,”_ tutted Clemont _–_

Bonnie rolled her eyes, Ash crossed his arms, “And don’t you think for a second in even messing with that stuff!”

“I’m not” –

_“Bonnie” –_

“I’m just amazed at what you did, that really happened with your blood!”

“Promise me right now,” said Clemont.

“UUUUUGH! Fine, I promise, but anywho,” Bonnie turned to Ash, “Isn’t that just another target on your back? Magic blood?”

“Well, not very many people even know, I haven’t even told my mother about it to be honest.”

“Your secret is safe with us, we won’t ever tell anyone.”

“Thank-you.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out on and off just how amazing Ash is” said Gary, “but then again, that kind of stuff can’t really be measured in practicality.” Ash blushed. “What we do know for certain is that Ash has a lot of favor with Legendary pokemon”-

“So what does that have to do with your blood?”

“It’s not so much my blood, as it is with me,” said Ash, “Both Gary and I have auras that are really compatible with human health transfer, and, likewise, what pokemon can do to help us. I have, well, I guess you can call them ‘blessings’ from certain Legendaries, I’m,” Ash rubbed the back of his head, “I guess I’ve got something, _special_ about me,” Ash crinkled his face, “at least, that’s what we know so far, to be honest we really have no idea, its just a theory Gary has been trying to put together, and the only proof we have is that we were protected against that, presence, err, presences, and I’m not trying to put myself into any direct line of danger here” – Gary’s obvious cough had Ash side-eye him – “Okay so I don’t lead the safest life, and bad things happen to me, and I still get pretty banged up and hurt and whatnot, so, I, I dunno, maybe we’ll never know.”

“Maybe you’re like a superhero who doesn’t know how to work his powers yet!”

“I highly doubt that Bonnie,” said Ash, “In the end, I’m glad I was able to keep Gary safe.”

“We spent the next two weeks over at Ritchie’s place while repairs got done on our home and stuff, and then after that, when we got back home, it really felt like home again…It was so good to have it back, our little spot in the world.”

“Rose said we had to put our energy back into the place, so we did.”

“On the living room floor, the kitchen table, the patio” –

“YUCK!” said Bonnie, “TMI, TMI” –

Clemont just sighed.

"Happy ending _totally_ achieved"-

"OMG STAHP" -

 

Gary took Ash’s bandaged hand and planted kisses of his own over it, all of which led to them pulling each other close into a soft and gentle make-out in their bedroom, the both of them completely nude. Gary laid himself back down on the bed with Ash holding himself over him, just for a moment to take in the sight of his lover. Ash caressed Gary's face, “You know there’s not a thing in this world I wouldn’t do for you."

Gary didn’t even attempt to hide his blush, “Then please do me.”

Ash couldn’t help but laugh as Gary pulled him in and began kissing him down his neck.

 _He really is your guardian angel Gary, you are lucky enough in this word to literally have a guardian angel as your boyfriend....And it_   _fills your heart with such warmth that you and Ash will be together both in this life, and the next._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *plop* so yeah, before or after The Warmth of Frost - before, that makes this super sad, or after! That would make this MUCH happier! As for The Warmth of Frost, prayer circle for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee that November is a good monthhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


End file.
